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DnD:Tribal Warfare.
Norgoth
cardiffRegistered User regular
cardiffRegistered User regular
Ok so me and some freinds had an idea for a campaing and id like some ideas/pointers/slappings.
Right so the general idea is instead of the standard "Be the hero" scenarios, we though it whould be fun to play as monsters and loot and pillage. Now this eventually grew to our tribal wars idea. Each player takes the reins as the chieftan of a "monster" clan (Orcs/Ogres/giants/Lizardmen e.t.c). Now rather than just playing standard Dnd, we want to incorporate a stratgy element to it.
My idea (as inevitable Dm) is to base tribes on character lvl. Raiding villages and such earns exp, but i plan to leave the distribution of exp to the players. Choosing to level up existing warriors or themselves, or buy new warriors at level one (possibly costing 1kexp, more for creatures that have a natural +level modifier). Now i plan to reign in sizes of tribes by imposing a limit on the combined level of the leader and all thier warriors, increasable by building houses or something similar at thier main settlement.
Now that im pretty sure on. Im planning to run the game in "rounds" with a build phase, a raid phase, and a resource collection phase. Now this is the bit providng me with a bit of trouble. Should most of the resource gathering be from looting? Whats an acceptable amount of warriors. (i want it to be about micro-management and setting up indivdual troopers, but i dont want the whole session to be taken up with it).
Has anyone ran anything similar? And do you guys forsee any real problems?
Right so the general idea is instead of the standard "Be the hero" scenarios, we though it whould be fun to play as monsters and loot and pillage. Now this eventually grew to our tribal wars idea. Each player takes the reins as the chieftan of a "monster" clan (Orcs/Ogres/giants/Lizardmen e.t.c). Now rather than just playing standard Dnd, we want to incorporate a stratgy element to it.
My idea (as inevitable Dm) is to base tribes on character lvl. Raiding villages and such earns exp, but i plan to leave the distribution of exp to the players. Choosing to level up existing warriors or themselves, or buy new warriors at level one (possibly costing 1kexp, more for creatures that have a natural +level modifier). Now i plan to reign in sizes of tribes by imposing a limit on the combined level of the leader and all thier warriors, increasable by building houses or something similar at thier main settlement.
Now that im pretty sure on. Im planning to run the game in "rounds" with a build phase, a raid phase, and a resource collection phase. Now this is the bit providng me with a bit of trouble. Should most of the resource gathering be from looting? Whats an acceptable amount of warriors. (i want it to be about micro-management and setting up indivdual troopers, but i dont want the whole session to be taken up with it).
Has anyone ran anything similar? And do you guys forsee any real problems?
Norgoth on
+1
Posts
Hope that helps.
Also, I think you should throw up some other variables; I'm not sure that xp is the way to go in my opinion since it's kind of cool tracking that on it's own but it's your game. You could use 'food production' to represent population jumps or 'infamy' to represent attraction of new people wanting to join the clan.
Just suggestions, and not an answer to either question you posed
Oh, real problems? Running three hundred orc soldiers in a DnD game. And doing it every week. And having fun. You'll probably either generalize them or get bored fast. I'd say that you'd want to find or make some mass combat rules (I never found any that have satisfied me, but I haven't looked too hard), simply because as a DM, I've never liked leaving things like players armies 'up to the DMs whim'. It made everything seem futile. Good luck.
Gold buys 1st lvl warriors, XP gets them better. Make it a resource thing, then its a strategy battle.
Playing orcs is fun, especially if you get into character. Lots of yelling of "zug zug!" "waaaagh!" and "umies!!!!".
Very, very fun.
CL=caster level, you want CR.
Either way, CR =/= ECL, which is what you are trying to go by.
One solution is to simply tell people that if they play kolbolds or goblins they will be at a disadvantage from the lizardfolk or the orcs.
Dungeons And Dragons: Tribes
Tribes. Turn based strategy meets Dungeons and Dragons.
Leader Races
Giant (all variations except storm) Level adjustment +4
Ogre Level Adjustment +2
Orc Level Adjustment 0 (Bodyguard 1)
Goblin Level Adjustment 0 (Bodyguard 2)
Bugbear Level Ajustment +1
Lizardfolk Level Adjustment +1
All of the above races are chooseable for player Tribal Chieftans. Roll a level 5 character of any basic class, using a system of your DM's choice, taking into account the level adjustment for the appropriate species. Multiclassing is allowed, but prestige classes are not. This is now your Tribal chieftan, the representation of you ingame, thier leader of your warband and mastermind in your schemes of conquest. The Next step in creating you heinous warband is to select a race. Due to the general concensus of most monster tribes the leader is generally the strongest, so leader and tribe race are largley interchangeable, thus any race may lead any other race, with the exception of giants.Giant tribes can only be lead by a giant, and cannot contain any other races. All giants must be of the same type.Being natural larger and more powerfull, only a giant player may choose the giant tribe. Note that races with a bodyguard notation automatically start with a trooper for each bodyguard point. This additonal trooper is of the same race as the player.
Skills: All skills apply to this format, though obviously some are more usefull than others for example preform and the job skills wont do much unless your orc with ranks in sailor builds a boat. DM's might wish to disallow/change some skills and this is fine. Troopers can only ever learn one skill. This is because they are stupid. In reality this prevents the game from become bogged down with too many skills.
Village, town, castle, fort, ruin.
Each player starts with a small camp from which they can launch raids. This camp starts with three huts, a chieftans tent , and a stockpile. In additon players each start with 300 wood, 300 stone, 300 food, and 3000 gold. All this is stored in thier stockpile, except for thier gold which is stored in thier chieftans tent. Players can purchase additonal structures, which provide additonial effects to both thier camp and thier troops, as well as providing additonal services and items.Buildings must be built a reasonable distance from each other. DM's may decided this for themselves but 50feet maximum is a good judgement. Some buildings are limited in how many may be built. You may only have 4 houses maximum, and only one keep. You may replace one of these buildings by simply building a new one. For example a player with 4 huts, may choose to replace one with a barracks. The old buildings are considered scrapped and used in the camp as firewood, or for building repairs.Lizardfolk may choose to build thier village in water. If they do all buildings must be have a walkway connecting them, as well as a wooden sidwalk around them. Each 10feet of walkway/sidewalk costs an additonal 5 wood. Following is a list of buildings and thier effects
Hut 5X5 feet
Increases Max Tribe Level by 5.
Costs 200 wood, 300 gold
Housing limit applys
Barracks 5X10
Increases Max Tribe Level by 10
Costs 150 wood 400 stone 700 gold
Housing limit applys
Chieftans Tent 6X6
Allows storage of gold, maximum of 6,000 gold.
Costs 300 wood. 100 gold
Keep.
Fort 20X20
Allows storage of gold, maximum of 10,000 gold
Costs 100 wood 600 stone 1,000 gold
Keep
Castle 40X40
Allows storage of gold, maximum of 20,000 gold
costs 100 wood 1,500 stone 3,000 gold
Keep
Stockpile 2X2
Allows storage of resources. Each stockpile stores 500 of each resource.
Costs 200 wood, 200 stone 200 gold.
No limit.
Wooden Wall.
Cost 20 wood and 5gold per 10 feet
The wall is only a thin defense and not large enough for a trooper to stand ontop of it. Its about as strong as a standard door.
Stone Wall
Cost 30 stone and 10gold per 10 feet
This wall is significant upgrade. The Wall is 5 feet across, large enough for an average humanoid to stand atop. A small layer of skins and scraps acts as a makeshift battlement acting as light cover. The wall is about as strong of the wall of a small house.
Fortifed wall
Cost 50 stone and 40gold per 10 feet.
This wall is heavily fortifed and difficult to make. It is 10foot thick and has full battlements. Its aproximatly as strong as a castle wall.
Armoury.
Cost 100 wood, 100 stone, 400 gold.
Allows storage of weaponry excess weaponry and items.
Limit one.
Stables
Cost 200 wood. 200 stone 350 gold
Stables allow for training of animals for use in warband. Animals tamed count towards warband level.
Requires animal handleing job trooper.
Limit one
Shamans tent
Cost 350 wood. 100 stone 300 gold.
A shamans tent acts as temple and hospital. Troopers resting in a shamans tent regain twice the normal amount of Hp, but cannot job. The shamans tent can also be used to illicit the favour of the gods. Costing 300 of each resource, make a DC 18 roll. On a sucsessful check raise dead is cast on a dead trooper of your choosing.
Requires any spellcaster job trooper.
Limit one
Troopers.
Troopers are addional characters you can add to your warband. They form the rank and file of your forces. Recruiting a new trooper costs 1200gold per starting level, and they come as they appear in the monster manual. Golbins only cost 400gold per new trooper and Orcs only cost 600gold. All monsters start at level one,plus whatever level adjustment they whould normally get. (thus a new lizardman costs 2400gold and a new giant costs 6,000 gold.) Ceatures start with the equipment listed in the monster manual. If serveal options are included you may decide which one you want. All giants in a tribe must be of the same type. Some monster tribes mix quite often. Ogres, orcs, bugbears and goblins may recruit troopers of a diffrent race for twice there normal starting cost. Lizardfolk are often secrative and do not have this luxury. During your upkeep each trooper will eat one food for each level. If you do not have enough food to feed your populace, creatures unable to eat all of thier food requirment lose one max hitpoint per each peice of food there missing. You may choose which trooper gets food and which does not. Hitpoints return to normal during each upkeep, and food is calculated afresh. Though troopers may aqquire items through raiding, they may only put items into, or take items from, the armoury during the upkeep.
One trooper may be designated as second in command. The total level of your troopers and your leader cannot exceed the totoal Tribal level, as decided by your current housing.
Jobs.
Some buildings may require jobbing troopers. This only means that you require troopers with the appropriate skill or class for the buildings to function.
Animals.
A Trooper with the animal handleing skill may attempt to tame a wild animal once per round. Tamed animals count against tribe level. Tamed animals can be trained to be mounts. You can only train one animal per turn. You may tame an animal and train it on the same turn. Tamed animals must be of the same alingment as your tribe. Orcs cannot tame griffions for example. There may be exceptions to this at the DM's discretion (For example a tribe may come across a griffion egg. Its concievable that the orcs chould raise the griffion evil and thus be able to use one). Animals do not have to be mounts to be used in battle and handle animal checks are required to control them. Normal mount rules apply.
Round structure.
1.Build phase
2.Raid phase
3.Upkeep phase
A round is considered to be a 24 hour peroid and troopers we regain HP as if they rested this period.
1.The build phase. During this phase players must spend resources to build new buildings. Buildings are not builts instantly, and the player must wait until his next rounds upkeep before they are completed.
2.Raid phase. During this phase players may raid to aquuire more resources. Players must choose what sort of target they wish to raid. If thier atatck is successull they will aquuire resources.They may choose not to raid if they wish.
3. Upkeep phase. During this phase food is calculated, buildings from the last round are completed, and player may make use of thier buildings, make animal handling checks, change equipment e.t.c
Raiding.
When players choose to raid they may select one of several targets.
1.Villages. Villages have an abundance of wood, and are sparsely populated. They have little or no defenses. Sucsessfully deafeating all the defenders of a village grants 2D20 wood. 2D6 stone, 3d10 food and D100x3 gold. Before raiding a village roll a D20. On a 15 or more a Retired adventurer has choosen to defend this town in his old age. DM's should create an encounter equal to aproximatly 3/4 of the apropriate Cr for the warband. If a retired adventurer calls this town home he will increase the CR to the appropriate level. He may carry magic items at the DM disrection.Aproximatly half the defenders have some sort of weapon, such as a sword or mace. Higher CR villages may have villagers with some armour.
2.Town. A town is a larger target than a village and it may have light defenses such as a wooden pallisade. Deafeating the defenders grants 1D20 wood. 3D20 stone, 4d10 food and D100x6 gold. Towns often have a city watch, as such the CR of the town should equal that of the warband. All a towns defenders will be carrying weapons, and they all wear armour of atleast studded leather. Some might carry ranged weapons. A Town defense force will always include a captain of the watch, who will be wearing chainmail. Before raiding a town roll a D20. On a 15 or more your warband encounter a merchant and his bodyguard on thier way to the town. You may decide to ambush them instead. The merhcants bodyguards should all be wearing chainmail or heavier. The Cr should match the warband. Sucsessfully attacking the merchant grants D100x15 gold. Choosing to attack the merchant counts as the raid for round.
3. Farm. Raiding a farm is often incredibly easy. Choosing a farm normally results in no combat encounter, and will automaticlly give 3D20 food. Once the raid is over roll a D20. On 15 or more the farmer has recruited a band of adventurers to take care of the monsters attacking his farm. An encounter will take place in your camp with a band of adventurers of equal CR level to your tribe. They may be carrying magic items.
4 City. A city is a daunting task to assualt. There often heavily defenders and almost always surrounded by walls. Attacking a city results in an encounter apoximatly 1 and a 1/2 times your CR. You will first have to break down or scale the wall. Sucsessfully attacking a city will yeild 2D20 wood. 4D20 stone, 6d10 food and D100x25 gold. Defenders of a city will bae varied and specalised. Most defenders will be plate armour equiped fighters and paladins. But rangeds, as well as sorcers or mages may also be defending the city. On a succsessfull attack roll a D20. On a roll of 15 or more you find a magical item (DM's discretion). Keep rolling to find magical items until you fail a roll.
5.Enemy tribe. Raiding an enemy tribe is dangerous. When raiding an enemy tribe you will face off against thier chieftan and troopers in thier camp. A win will grant you half of all thier resources. But the savagry of monster tribes mean that any troopers killed will have to be left behind. A Trooper killed during a raid on an enemy camp cannot be ressurected. All his equipment becomes property of the defending player. If a players chieftan is killed and he has no second his warband is sent into a state of dissary. In this chaos a new chieftan may emerge. Roll a new chieftan at level 5. If the player has a second, that trooper takes over. He may attempt to ressurect his former leader if he wishes.
Killing enemys in Raids grants exp as normal. However players may choose to spend exp as they wish, rather than spreading it round troopers.
Also, your structures are ridiculously expensive compared to the rewards from raiding.
Edit: I mean, you have to raid three villages to freaking recruit a GOBLIN. What are the chances you will lose a goblin when raiding one of those three villages?
That isnt a strategy game, its a grind.
Edit:
How about this..
You determine building cost by size and strengh, then let the players use it for whatever the hell they want. Limit tribe size by number of beds, and reduce the costs for everything!
A giant with a single level in fighter has an ECL of 5.
The buildings prices are just temporary. I havent actually tried this yet, so there just rough estimates. Id rather a building comes every 2-3 raids to stop tribes getting stupidly overpowered early on.
Edit:Yeah i can see what you mean with the recruitment/raid ratio. Ill try to fix that.
There is no "overpowered" everyone has the same power.
A Hill giant with a single level of fighter has an ECL of 17
Edit: HMmm say place a wood cost on the size of a building and a stone cost on the strenght, determine a gold cost from the two and then just have the player decide what type of building they want to use it for?
Good, better yet.
Assign a wood cost based on the size, a stone cost based on the size and the strenght, let the players design each building floor plan.
Based on the size and the strength you get a gold cost, and based on the gold cost, you get x unit/turns to build